Budget Gaming GPU (1080p, Ultra, 60FPS)

PCGUY2015 · Feb 18, 2016

Hello I have an i5-2500K that still works great for heavy gaming.. but my GPU is bottlenecking, I'm looking for the cheapest budget GPU that will support 1080p, Ultra, 60FPS.. on games like BF4, GTA, Sniper elite 3...

Scadoosh118 · Feb 18, 2016

GTX 960. It has 4 gigs of RAM, but if weaker than its older brothers. Cheap but it'll get the job done.
I'd upgrade your processor to an i5 6600K or an i7 6700K and get DDR4 RAM, but if this is not necessary and you're on a budget, you can do without it.

PCGUY2015 · Feb 18, 2016

Scadoosh118 :

You mean that the GTX 960 is weaker than its Predecessors??

iamacow · Feb 18, 2016

The GTx 960 is basically the same performance of a GTX 680. Still can't play all games on Ultra. Far Cry 4 can only run on high. Your best bet for budget is to pick up a used GTX 780.

SPgamer007 · Feb 18, 2016

Cheapest budget GPU can be a gtx 960 (4gb) , R9 380. but these won't run games like GTA V at ultra 60 fps, can do 45+ though and good enough for high settings.
For ultra 1080p,you'll need GTX 970/R9 390.

DustinV · Feb 18, 2016

An i5 2500k can handle a gtx 970 without bottlenecking, you will need to overclock, but its a k model cpu, its made to overclock.
What is your current gpu that is being bottlenecked? is you cpu overclocked?

Scadoosh118 · Feb 18, 2016

PCGUY2015 :

Scadoosh118 :

You mean that the GTX 960 is weaker than its Predecessors??

Younger brothers.

PCGUY2015 · Feb 18, 2016

What about this one? GTX 750
http://www.evga.com/Products/Product.aspx?pn=02G-P4-3753-KR

Scadoosh118 · Feb 18, 2016

PCGUY2015 :

2 gigs of VRAM. Bad idea.

DustinV · Feb 18, 2016

PCGUY2015 :

What gpu is being bottlenecked and what is your i5 2500k clocked at?

SPgamer007 · Feb 18, 2016

Try and get a GTX 950, about same performance as gtx 960 but cheaper.

DustinV · Feb 18, 2016

SPgamer007 :

Completely wrong. gtx 950 is $130, 960 cost $180 and there is definitely a performance difference that the extra $50 is worth it

ZachyBeat · Feb 18, 2016

There seems to be a lot of confusion here.

The 2500k processor is prime for gaming. If you have it overclocked then that's even better. A GTX 960 will be able to yield 60+ fps @1080 on BF4 and GTA V. I can tell you that from my FX 8320 oc to 4.5ghz (0.5ghz past stock turbo) and a GTX 770 with a measly 70mhz oc being able to play GTA V ultra at 60fps with the only limitations being 2GB vram (which you can and I have bypassed).

What is your current GPU? The GTX 750 isn't going to give you 60fps at ultra. I would recommend the 770, 960, 380x, or 280x. If your budget allows for something more, grab a 390 or 970.

EDIT: Please post your PSU details. It should fall into the top 2 tiers, ideally. http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

PCGUY2015 · Feb 19, 2016

My i5-2500k is currently at stock speeds, PSU its an EVGA 550W GS and GPU its EVGA GTX 550 ti 2GB

ZachyBeat · Feb 19, 2016

What's your budget? If you're in the $200 range I would recommend an R9 380x; Sapphire Nitro if available to you. Below that is the GTX 950 and above would be the R9 390.

DustinV · Feb 19, 2016

At stock settings get an R9 380 or Gtx 960 4gb, no need for an Amd vs nvidia war, look into the, see which you like better.

But yet again why did you get a "k" model cpu if you arnt going to overclock it?? That's what it was made to do.
If you overclock you cpu it can go up to 5.0 ghz (but easily 4.5+) and will be a beast that can easily handle a Gtx 970 or r9 390 (which are about $310)

SPgamer007 · Feb 19, 2016

PCGUY2015 :

GTX 750TI , if budget is really tight : https://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-02gp43753kr

GTX 950 , Recommended mid range card, can run GTA 5 med-high settings 60fps ultra, about same as a gtx 960 ,4-5 FPS difference, which isn't worth the cost over gtx 950 : https://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-02gp43753kr

Or wait for PASCAL line-up.

iamacow · Feb 19, 2016

I'm telling ya $200 for a used GTX 780 is a good deal. way faster than GTX 960/950 and GTX 750 TI.

t99 · Feb 19, 2016

You need at least a GTX 970 for it to be a real upgrade from the 280x you already have. A 960 really won't be much of a difference, maybe a few fps or so, but not much.

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